


Lunch

by MissAdoration



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5800006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissAdoration/pseuds/MissAdoration
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint and Natasha put the money that Clint won to good use. Additional scene to "Heat Wave" by thegraytigress</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lunch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thegraytigress](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegraytigress/gifts).



> This takes place 2 days after Clint sees Natasha since she came back from her mission with the Cap and before she tells Steve that he’s her new partner. ( Heat Wave chapter 10).

The fact that her partner was lost and defeated made her feel lost and defeated.

He was lost and defeated because the World Security Council had benched him until he learned the results of his psych eval.

She was lost and defeated because she was forced to work with a new partner. She had to work with Captain America, and apparently, word got around that Fury had paired her with him.

The mission was a success, well despite being blown out of the sky, stranded on a deserted island, taken captive, and then her being thrown out of an airplane. Bottom line, both were still alive and the 084 was out of SHIELD’s hands. She knew what Steve had done with it, and she was fine with it. She too agreed that no one should be able to use it.

The sound of her phone vibrating against the desk made her jump in her chair. She was deep in thought, working on one of the numerous field reports from this last mission. It was a text from Clint saying to meet him in the gym.

Sending a reply that she would be there, she saved her work, closed her laptop and headed to the elevator.

“Training room,” she said.

“Training room, confirmed.”

Along the way, she processed what was going on. Clint had won an office bet that Captain America would not survive a mission with the infamous Black Widow. Well, he did and he had won enough money to buy her lunch. He told her later that day that the dollar value that he won was over $100.

Technically, they were supposed to have whatever they were having like yesterday, but he the second he sent the text to have him meet her, the Council requested his services, thus having him to cancel his plans. 

When the elevator eventually reached the training room. She slowly stepped out, being alert for wherever Clint was hiding. For all she knew, he could be in one of the vents, waiting to drop down on top of her and tackle her to the ground.

The training room was empty, however the lights were on. She couldn’t feel a change of pressure in the air, so that meant he was not in the vents.

“Where the heck are you, Barton?” she asked to herself.

Regardless of where he was, he was coming. She never received another text on her phone, so that meant that he didn’t get detoured.

For the next 10 minutes she waited, pacing back and forth in front of the wall, still on alert in case he snuck up on her. Her thigh was getting better, so she was ready for whatever was going to happen. She knew that he wanted to challenge her in the ring whenever she was strong enough to do it. Was he backing down now? No, Clint Barton would NEVER back down from a fight, especially one with his partner.

So, where was he?

* * *

 Ten minutes eventually became thirty minutes and then forty-five minutes. Now Natasha was getting impatient. Waiting was not on her list of favorites, especially when it came to waiting for her partner. She tried texting him, but he didn’t respond. When she tried calling, she only got his voicemail.

“You’ll pay for this, Barton,” she said to herself as she began to leave the training room.

She was almost out the door when she got a brilliant idea. She would hide in the vents and drop down on him when he entered the training room. They would then challenge each other for as long as both of them a still had any energy. After that, and if both of them were still in one piece, they would go for lunch.

Still on alert, she pushed herself up into the vents and crawled to where she could see the floor of the training room.

“Now he’s gonna get it,” she said to herself as she did her best to get comfortable.

Once again, Natasha found herself waiting.

She left her phone down below so she couldn’t see if he had texted her back. She was starting to feel like he had once again stood her up.

Then it happened.

A hand grabbed her ankle. She couldn’t help the cry that escaped her lips as the grip grew tighter and tighter. The mystery hand then began to drag her back, like they were taking her captive. She tried to break free, but it was no use. Whoever was dragging her through the vents had a plan up their sleeve.

“Going somewhere, little spider?” the voice asked. She finally managed to pull herself from the person’s grip. Despite the lack of light, she was still able to make out who had grabbed her.

“Clint, you idiot!” she shouted at him as she raised her hand to punch him.

Her hand never made contact with his face. He quickly grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the floor.

“What’s wrong, Nat? Little stuck there?” he asked teasingly.

“Let go of me!” she pleaded.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” he responded.

“Clint!” she exclaimed glaring at him. Clint eventually released his grip on her wrist.

“I think we better get out of here before we break something up here,” he suggested. Natasha nodded and the two of them crawled back toward the entrance where she had originally entered.

* * *

 The second both of them reached the ground, they immediately engaged. For the next five minutes or so, the two assassins blocked each other’s punches, ducked from each other’s kicks, and pushed each other down. There were a few times that Natasha shrieked, and that was because Clint had pulled her hair.

As a payback for scaring her half to death in the vents and for making her wait for almost an hour, Natasha got clever and flipped her partner over her shoulder, causing him to land hard on his back.

For the next few minutes, Clint lay on the ground unmoving.

He was still.

“Clint!” Natasha exclaimed as she knelt down beside him and began shaking him awake. Clint immediately opened his eyes and smiled.

“Gotcha!” he said teasingly. That earned him a good punch to the shoulder.

“You’re mean,” she whined.

“It’s what I do best, now are you gonna help me up or not?”

Natasha stood up to take his hand, but instead, Clint pulled her back down and she landed on top of him. He then rolled to his left, thus pinning his partner to the ground.

“Little stuck there, Nat?” he asked teasingly. Natasha shoved Clint’s hands off her and stood up to leave the room.

“What about lunch!” he called after her.

“Another time, Barton!” she responded not even turning around.

Clint was hurt. She was probably still mad that he made her wait. With his head down, he sulked out of the training room and headed back to his room.

* * *

 A half hour later, there was a knock at his door. He sighed as he went to open it.

“Still want to get lunch, Barton?” Natasha asked. Clint smiled as he took in her features. She was wearing a black sweater with a red shirt underneath. She also had on black jeans and boots.

She looked beautiful.

“I thought you were mad me,” he answered.

“Nah, now come on, let’s put that bet money to good use,” she said smiling.

“Hang on, let me change first. Wait here,” he answered. He then closed the door so he could change out of his workout clothes.

Five minutes later, he came out wearing a black polo and black jeans. His hair even looked neater than earlier.

“Ready, Miss Romanoff?” he asked politely.

“Yes, Mr. Barton,” she responded as he took her hand. Together the two of them left the Triskelion and headed to one of the area restaurants for lunch.

Throughout the meal, they talked about Natasha’s mission with the Cap, what he had been up to while she was gone, and what their future was looking like. For now, he would continue to do small jobs around SHIELD while she would continue to work with the Cap. Both wanted to work with each other, but they knew that wasn’t the case. The Council didn’t seem like they were going to budge anytime soon.

And Clint was beginning to accept that.

Natasha wasn’t however.

It’s not that she hated working with Captain America, she just wasn’t used to it yet. Clint had been her partner for five years. He knew her from the inside out. He knew how to handle her when she had a nightmare or when was having a flashback. He knew how she fought when she was in the field.

“Nat, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine,” he reassured her when he thought he saw tears in her eyes.

“It’s just not the same. Rogers is different. He’s new to SHIELD. He’s even new to this century.”

“Hey, you were new once. You didn’t even think you could make it in this organization. Now look at you. You’re training the new guy,” Clint responded as he took her hand that had been resting on the table.

“I wish you were training him with me. You’ve been at SHIELD longer than I have.”

“Maybe one day I could join you guys in the ring. Now that’s a fight I’d like to see. Captain America versus Black Widow.”

“Barton, you and I both know who would win,” Natasha responded smiling. Clint smiled back and pulled something out of his jeans pocket.

“Clint, you know I don’t like presents,” she said.

“I know you don’t, but this is a special present,” he said as he handed her the box.

With gentle hands, Natasha opened the box to reveal a silver plated arrow necklace.

“What’s this?” she asked surprisingly.

“It’s a symbol of our partnership. No matter what the council does to me or what the results of my psych eval are, you are still my partner and you always will be.”

“You’re sweet,” she teased.

“It’s what I do. I’m sweet, and I’m deadly cool.”

“And what am I, a deadly assassin who got saved by an archer?” Natasha asked as she put the necklace on.

“You’re cool too, and a great partner,” Clint answered.

“Thank you.”

* * *

 The pair eventually returned to the Triskelion over three hours later. Both were worn out and tired from their fight earlier in the day and from walking around town after their meal.

For the next few minutes, the two assassins stood outside Natasha’s room.

Neither wanted to leave.

It felt like they were leaving each other forever.

“It’ll be OK. I promise. You need to move on. This will be good for you,” Clint soothed as he took her into his arms.

“I don’t want to move on.”  

“Neither do I, but we have to. This is how it has to be. I’m not the same person anymore,” Clint responded. Natasha looked up at him. A few tears were in her eyes.

“Thank you. For making me the person I am today,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

Before he stepped away, he gave her a firm kiss on the forehead, giving her the strength that he had given her so many times when she needed it.

Clutching the arrow necklace in her palm, she watched him walk away with his head down. He looked defeated, like that was hardest thing he had ever done in his life.

Once he was out of sight, she went back into her room and closed the door.

Five minutes later, she laid down on her bunk, clutched the arrow necklace in her hand, and cried herself to sleep. Tomorrow she would accompany him to hear the results of his psych eval.  He only brought it up once and he never asked her to come, but she was going to go anyway. He was still her partner, and he would never be replaced.

Never.


End file.
